- 2 days ago
For educational purposes
Conceived in World War II from the need of a self-defending bomber capable of great range and/or heavy bomb load, the B-36 would be the mainstay of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) for airborne nuclear deterrent in the early to middle 1950's.
See this "giant," the largest airplane ever to reach full production status, from its first flight XB-36 to the all jet-powered YB-60.
Also included is the development of the parasite fighter/recon-naissance using the XF-85 Goblin jet and finally the RF-84F.
Although never seeing military war-time action, the B-36 served well during the Cold War, making the Peacemaker one of the Great Planes.
Conceived in World War II from the need of a self-defending bomber capable of great range and/or heavy bomb load, the B-36 would be the mainstay of the Strategic Air Command (SAC) for airborne nuclear deterrent in the early to middle 1950's.
See this "giant," the largest airplane ever to reach full production status, from its first flight XB-36 to the all jet-powered YB-60.
Also included is the development of the parasite fighter/recon-naissance using the XF-85 Goblin jet and finally the RF-84F.
Although never seeing military war-time action, the B-36 served well during the Cold War, making the Peacemaker one of the Great Planes.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00The
00:30This mission will fly you beyond where any other plane can go and back.
00:58It was during the early 1900s when America was starting to emerge as a world power
01:20that the first Roosevelt made his prophetic statement on international diplomacy
01:24with the advice to talk softly but carry a big stick.
01:28Half a century later when the United States stood as the world's champion against communism,
01:52its big stick was undoubtedly the Convair B-36 long-range bomber.
01:57Although this mammoth aircraft was to serve throughout the 1950s, it could actually trace
02:02its origin back even before America entered the Second World War.
02:06The 36 was to earn its apt, if unofficial, title of peacemaker.
02:13By 1941, the United States Army Air Force had two effective heavy bombers at its disposal.
02:20They were the legendary B-17 designed by the Boeing Company.
02:24This superb four-engined aircraft was to serve throughout the war
02:28and the heavily armed later versions were understandably known as the Flying Fortresses.
02:35Marietta Merritt was one of the most
02:46appeared at the machine at the mainland.
02:51A slightly later model was the consolidated B-24 Liberator.
03:10The Liberator featured an advanced tri-cycle undercarriage which permitted higher speed landings
03:16and the design saw service in all theatres of the war.
03:19However, the larger bulkier fuselage enabled some models to be converted into transports,
03:24making the B-24 one of the most versatile aircraft in the American inventory.
03:29The Liberator, like the 17, was also heavily defended and it was also able to fly slightly higher than the Fortress.
03:49But more importantly, it offered greater range, so it was often used for maritime patrol work,
03:59flying what at the time were considered very long distances on internal fuel.
04:06However, the B-17 and the B-24 were only able to make the trip from America to Europe one way.
04:26In 1941, the Army Air Force also had on order another bomber,
04:30ultimately able to fly still higher and further than those preceding it.
04:35Another Boeing design, the B-29 Superfortress, was undoubtedly the most powerful bomber to sea service throughout the entire conflict.
04:44But, even though several hundred were on order, there was not even a single prototype in the air.
04:54A second backup concept, should the B-29 fail in any way, was a consolidated B-32 Dominator.
05:01This aircraft was not produced in any great numbers,
05:04but it did provide a reassuring alternative to the Superfortress' phenomenal capability.
05:09However, in 1941, it too could only be seen on the blueprint.
05:14By the middle of that year, continental Europe was in Nazi hands as the German juggernaut enjoyed success after success.
05:44More importantly, although Britain had regained some supremacy in the air,
06:04it still suffered from constant punishing bombardment from the Luftwaffe,
06:08which devastated its people and its industry.
06:11These raids, often at night, but sometimes in daylight,
06:15were seen by the German High Command as a means to bring the island nation to its knees.
06:20The burning question, which American tacticians struggled with, was simply,
06:24what would happen if the US was brought into the conflict
06:27and the sole remaining Allied base in Europe was to be lost to Germany?
06:41One possibility American strategists considered was the development of an aircraft with such phenomenal range,
06:50that it would actually be able to start from bases on the American East Coast,
06:55fly the entire span of the Atlantic to deliver its payload,
07:11and then return to continental America without any form of refuelling or fighter protection.
07:18The American aviation industry had produced long range bombers in the past.
07:22The first of these was an early Boeing project, the XB-15.
07:26This aircraft was to have a wingspan of almost 150 feet,
07:30but needed all of the power of its four 1,000 horsepower engines to lift its 35 tons of bulk into the air.
07:37The second experimental long range bomber was developed by the Douglas Company,
07:41and the prototype, XB-19, was ordered in September 1936.
07:45This aircraft, with a wingspan of 212 feet, was still larger than the XB-15 when completed.
07:52The task required 500 men, 9,000 drawings, and 2 million man-hours,
07:58plus $1.4 million of the military's funds.
08:01It also cost Douglas an estimated $4 million over its original budget,
08:05clearly developing mammoth aircraft was an expensive business.
08:09Nevertheless, the XB-19 was a true watershed in aviation standards,
08:14not only in size, but also in innovation.
08:17It was the first aircraft built with retractable tricycle undercarriage,
08:21and designed to have power-operated guns and a tail gun turret.
08:25Had it gone into production, it would also have offered a range of in excess of 7,000 miles.
08:31The information gained from the XB-15 and 19 projects,
08:35knowledge of the inadequacies of aircraft inventory in the early 1940s,
08:39and the looming prospect of having to wage a European war from American shores,
08:43the American Defence Department contemplated the problems of producing an extra long-range heavy bomber
08:49to do the round trip across the Atlantic.
08:51To do this, it called upon designs from Northrop and Consolidated.
08:55The Northrop design was nothing if not unique.
08:58The concept worked on the premise that if an aircraft could be produced
09:01without the drag effect of the fuselage and tail plane,
09:04considerable range would be achieved.
09:06Therefore, Northrop set about designing an aircraft which by any other name was just a wing,
09:12a flying wing.
09:13And on the 25th of October 1941, an order was placed for two XB-35 experimental bombers.
09:22The Consolidated design was more conventional than its competitor,
09:25in shape, but certainly not in size.
09:28With an overall wing area of just under 5,000 square feet,
09:32the B-36 was to require no less than six engines placed at the back of the wing
09:37to push its massive 163 foot fuselage through the air.
09:41And on the 25th of November 1941, an order was approved for two aircraft,
09:46in the hope that the first would be developed by mid-1944,
09:49at a fixed fee of approximately $800,000 each.
09:53The naval psi ofrest member was all over three vehicles.
09:58They decided that this Bhaduupp Island should be laid out along with 311 vehicles,
10:03so that chưa one place and how they built theshaw
10:11components of the aircraft would be the solid of the boats waim.
10:18U?
10:19The air the wooden rig arbeitet through the airport.
10:22As it happened, the much-needed bomber bases in Britain were never denied to the Army Air
10:35Force, and as a result, the standard B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers were able to attack
10:41Axis targets from 1942 onwards. Delivered in their thousands, the fortresses and liberators
10:48were to wrench a terrible price from the enemy. The longer distances required by the Pacific
10:56Theatre were amply met by Boeing's B-29, especially after the capture of the Mariana Islands in
11:02mid-1944, which gave the super fortress the stepping stone which enabled the Air Force
11:07to reach the heart of Japan. But it was one particular B-29 with one particular bomb that
11:14was to bring the Second World War and much military aircraft development to an end.
11:19Two exceptions to this were experimental long-range bombers ordered only weeks before American
11:24involvement in the conflict, but never given sufficient priority until the war's end, and
11:29the need to deliver a new weapon, never perceived in the tactician's wildest dreams four years
11:34earlier.
11:36The first Northrop B-35 was actually constructed in the open and completed in June 1946. This
11:56crever design, which was the source of controversy for many years, was powered by four pusher engines
12:02and was intended to carry a crew of nine in the pressurised centre section, for its shape
12:07barely allowed the word fuselage to be applied.
12:14However, the radical new shape, which relied upon flaperons on the end of each wing in lieu
12:21of a conventional tail plane, was never to completely overcome stability shortcomings. But the flying
12:27wing must surely go down in history as one of the most brilliant aviation concepts ever conceived.
12:32The first XB-36 was wheeled out of the experimental hangar just six days after Japan surrendered, but
12:47it was to be August 1946, nearly five years after it was ordered, before the peacemaker was
12:53to be ready to fly.
13:00The prototype's single main wheels were 100 inches in diameter and the largest ever made
13:05for an aircraft, but this was to prove a major weakness. The six pusher-type engines were
13:10to have their air intakes on the forward section of the wings. However, this advanced concept
13:15for the time was also to provide initial difficulties in cooling the engines and would require later modification.
13:27On August the 8th, 1946, the first XB-36, under the command of Captain Beryl A. Erickson,
13:33rolled down the Fort Worth runway with a total crew of nine and eight thousand gallons of fuel.
13:39At exactly ten minutes past one in the morning, he lifted Convair's giant aerial masterpiece into the air
13:44for the first time. It was the biggest plane ever to fly, even in Texas.
14:01The flight was to continue for no more than 37 minutes, during which time the undercarriage
14:05was to remain in the wheels down position as a safety precaution. Erickson's crew on this
14:11and many subsequent occasions were to put the giant aircraft through many vigorous tasks,
14:15which quickly identified the problems of giantism. One of the most formidable being the vibration
14:21caused by such enormous engines paced out over the wide distances of the wing. And cooling was another
14:27problem, especially at high altitude. It was obvious that there would be many areas requiring major attention.
14:33But perhaps the most fundamental was the simple concept of the massive wheel arrangement which limited Convair's bomber
14:45to runways at least 22 inches thick, and as there were only three of these available anywhere in America,
14:51clearly an answer needed to be found, and found quickly.
15:19It also came in what was considered another breakthrough, by combining four 56-inch wheels into a group under each wing,
15:25thus spreading the B-36's phenomenal weight over the much wider area, thereby committing the Peacemaker
15:31to use runways of half the previously required thickness.
15:37very early in the B-36 concept, Convair could see the potential of utilizing its enormous wings and tower plane
15:57for the transport version of the Peacemaker's commercial cousin, the XC-99, which was ready for its maiden flight in November 1947.
16:05Still larger again than its bomber counterpart, the 99 was assembled at Convair's San Diego operation,
16:13but with wings and other common parts shipped across the nation from Fort Worth.
16:19Here at Lindenburg Field, what had now become the world's largest plane was to demonstrate the potential that would lead
16:29to the mammoth transport and airline concepts that followed decades later.
16:43The 99 was to attract considerable attention by Pan Ann, who seriously considered a civil version for the west coast to Hawaii run,
16:51and actually took out options on three such aircraft, but as predicted, the early post-war airline boom was not to transpire for many years.
16:59The XC-99 was never to see civil service, and the sole example produced remained in active service with the Air Force until 1957,
17:09and became particularly invaluable during the Korean War, when it was used to rush essential payloads from one side of the nation to the other.
17:17This aircraft, too, had to be modified with a new undercarriage system, but when it was, it proved extremely versatile,
17:24and had, if required, the potential to lift 400 fully equipped troops.
17:29Yet, practically, it was just too soon for its time.
17:57However, Convair's main interest had always been with the extra long-range bomber concept,
18:02and it continued to develop and refine the B-36 throughout the late 40s,
18:07emphasizing that this weapon alone provided the ultra-long range to strike virtually any target in the world,
18:13and return to its base in America.
18:16Long range would require many hours of physical endurance for the crew,
18:20and therefore, inside the B-36's massive fuselage, adequate provision was made for sleeping quarters,
18:27and a galley complete with a two-burner stove.
18:30Ample provisions were always provided.
18:33However, the center pressurized section, which held these amenities,
18:37was actually no less than 80 feet from the forward control area,
18:40which was only accessible via a narrow tunnel spanning the distance.
18:44Heated food was packed in specially designed containers for conveying between the vast distances of the two pressurized sections.
18:52The tunnel also served as the only means to convey personnel from one crew section to another,
18:57and because of the distances involved, a small trolley was provided to enable each member to propel himself more effectively.
19:05Problems generated by the size of the B-36 also required other unique procedures never previously required by other aircraft.
19:13Immediately after takeoff and before the plane was pressurized,
19:17a crew member was given the responsibility of examining certain vulnerable areas within the massive interior structure,
19:23which formed the fuselage of the B-36.
19:25Only then would the plane be allowed to climb to higher altitudes and continue with its mission.
19:30Other problems in dealing with the size of a B-36 came to light.
19:59There was the question of how to service each of the massive aircraft,
20:03which was so big that special outdoor hangars had to be constructed,
20:06so that only the essential parts could be accessible.
20:09And although the problems of engine vibration and cooling had been successfully resolved,
20:19there is no doubt that there were grave concerns with the viability of the B-36 in competition with other alternatives.
20:26Firstly, the project's original competitor, the Flying Wing, had been upgraded to an all-jet aircraft,
20:38replacing the four propellers with eight turbojet engines.
20:41Northrop hoped to increase the speed and viability of its quite brilliant concept,
20:46which utilized unique flapperons, shown here at the end of the wing,
20:50to make up for the absence of the conventional tailplane.
20:53The Flying Wing
20:55The Flying Wing
20:57Another and more conventional competitor of the 36 also came from the past.
21:26This was the Boeing B-50.
21:29The aircraft was really just a standard superfortress of Second World War vintage,
21:33but with more powerful engines and extended range from the underwing mounted fuel tanks.
21:38This range was enhanced yet again by Boeing's successful development of aerial in-flight refueling.
21:44Thus, the Air Force had available to it a proven aeroplane combination, which could fly the same range as the 36,
21:51but without having to address the problems of giantism.
21:55By the late 40s, due to these innovations, the future of the B-36 looked very bleak indeed.
22:01Its salvation came from two major developments.
22:05The first one, poetically enough, was also provided by Consolidated's long-term competitor, Boeing.
22:11For Boeing developed the successful medium-range bomber entirely powered by jets,
22:16but utilizing captured German technology which showed the benefits of a swept back wing.
22:21Boeing's B-47 was to have the wing that was not only swept, but was so flexible that it could move within an arc of 17 feet.
22:30However, so that the wing could remain thin, the six engines had to be mounted in pods suspended from below.
22:36The outer pods contained one engine apiece, but the inboard pods contained two engines which were suspended several feet below the wing surface.
22:44And it was with this equipment that the engineers from both companies worked together to attach to the far outside wing of Boeing's giant.
22:58With six turning and four burning, the 36 was at last, in part, entering into the jet age.
23:05The other event which was to secure the future of the 36 took place on June the 24th, 1948,
23:17when the Soviets closed the gate on Berlin, signaling in one step the beginning of the Cold War.
23:23Now, the growing concerns of communism polarized into an action which shocked the West out of its post-war complacency.
23:30As NATO forces now found they were confronted with a potent adversary, in a matter of days the need for an intercontinental bomber had gone from hypothetical to the very real.
23:42At that stage, there was no one plane in the world able to fulfill the long-range potential of the Convair giant.
23:47And rather than cancellation, orders for the peacemaker were actually increased.
23:52As concern continued, the importance of America's Strategic Air Command, which was responsible for long-range bombing, increased considerably.
24:00And it was ultimately placed under the direct command of General Curtis LeMay.
24:05LeMay had an impeccable Second World War record.
24:09It started with his early involvement in the European bombardment with the Army Air Force,
24:14and continued to when he took command of the Pacific operations and the B-29 bombardment of Japan.
24:20Considered one of the great strategists in American wartime experience, he also supervised the Berlin airlift,
24:27and was now seen as the most qualified person to bring the Strategic Air Command, including its fast-growing fleet of 36ers, to the highest possible state of readiness.
24:37Under LeMay's iron leadership of SAC, the American public took comfort in the fact that, although they now no longer had a monopoly on atomic weaponry,
24:49that at least they had what was probably the best platform for delivery, the B-36.
24:55So concerned was the military about protecting its intercontinental bomber, that security was stepped up to effectively a wartime footing,
25:03and personnel in SAC control rooms were required to carry firearms, even though they were in fact hundreds of miles inside American borders.
25:11The concern to protect America's big stick even required mechanics servicing the engines to carry firearms whilst they worked.
25:19Exercises continued at an ever-increasing pace, night and day, and in all weathers, LeMay worked his crews.
25:37This is engineer, engineer checklist complete, ready for take-off, over.
25:47While the checklist complete, ready for take-off.
25:51Roger, give me a hundred percent on the jets.
25:54Roger, jets coming up.
25:56Engineer, give me full power.
25:58Full power coming on.
25:59Jets, one hundred percent, stay apart, temp okay.
26:02Take-off power is set.
26:04Everything's stabilized.
26:06Engineer ready for take-off.
26:08Roger.
26:10Carswell Tower, Air Force 653, ready for take-off.
26:14Air Force 653, Carswell Tower, roger.
26:17Clear to roll.
26:18Roger, 653, rolling.
26:21Here we go.
26:34Engineer, give me flying power.
26:48Roger.
26:49Clamp power coming on.
26:50Give me 96 percent on the jets.
26:51Roger, 96 percent on the jets.
26:55Usually flying as single aircraft rather than in formation, SAC's peacemakers would practice
27:06bombing raids over vast distances and at next to no notice.
27:11The 36ers utilized a K-1 bombing navigation system for precision accuracy.
27:16The K-1 system contained no less than 365 vacuum tubes and enabled the 36 to bomb at
27:23high speed in any weather.
27:30The target was usually a radio signal from special trucks built to gauge the accuracy
27:35of SAC's aircraft.
27:36Although the fact that B-36s were to cost over $5 million apiece, they, together with the
27:42K-1 system and LeMay's insistence upon constant training, provided a combination which was
27:48anything if not accurate.
27:49Pilot, this is radar, we're over the IP, pick up the heading of 1-9-7.
27:55Bob, Watt Air Force 653, over the IP, up to 35,000, on an inbound heading of 1-9-7-degree.
28:06Bob, Watt Air Force 653, 30 seconds to go, bombs away.
28:19One-five seconds to go, bomb plot, don't switch, coming on.
28:28The pencil in the plotter's hand represents the plane moving over the graph scale towards
28:40the target.
28:43However, despite the enormous potential of the Convair giant, detractors often considered
28:57its large size to make it a prime target for enemy fighters, and even before the first
29:0136 even flew, the Air Force ordered a unique auxiliary, the McDonnell Goblin, as a parasite
29:08fighter to be actually carried within the B-36.
29:11This incredible design consisted of the barest essentials and had fold-down wings which would
29:16enable the aircraft to be totally concealed within the 36's bomb bay.
29:22However actually used with the Peacemaker, its flight controls were conducted from a
29:26B-29 mothership, and flight trials commenced in 1948.
29:32In August, with test pilot Ed Scorch secured in the cockpit, the Goblin was launched by
29:36a trapeze mechanism from the B-29, and the pilot successfully flew what must be one of America's
29:42most remarkable fighters.
29:44However, when Scorch came to reconnect, the Goblin hooked to the trapeze, turbulence lifted
29:49the little fighter, and the mother plane mechanism broke the canopy and wrenched the oxygen mask
29:54away from the pilot.
29:56But Scorch was just able to regain control and crash land this tiny fighter.
30:09This setback did not stop development.
30:13The second and only other Goblin produced continued its task.
30:18Eventually on October the 14th 1948, a successful hookup was effected and the Goblin pulled into
30:23the 29's belly.
30:28But this bomber-parasite fighter combination, although bold in concept, was never to be adopted
30:33because it seemed to present as many problems as it tried to solve.
30:44However, a later parasite project involving the B-36 was the FICON fighter conveyor concept.
30:53This program began in 1952 and involved mating up a Republic F-84 directly underneath a modified
31:00peacemaker.
31:01There was no intention of fully consuming the F-84 within the mother craft.
31:14Not until after the aircraft and its parasite were in the air would the fighter pilot enter
31:18into its cockpit and he, working as a team with the highly trained boom operator who was
31:23positioned in the mother plane, would attempt the delicate and skillful task of lowering the
31:28fighter via a large hydraulic operated boom to a point below the bomber where the fighter
31:33could be successfully released.
31:58This task actually proved very successful and the process of recoupling, although requiring
32:21a great skill was perfected to a fine art.
32:30The combination of these aircraft provided many potentials, especially as the pilot was
32:35able to come and go from the fighter when it was in the docked position.
32:38In actual fact, the FICON mission was really perceived more to extend the reconnaissance capacity
32:44of the B-36.
32:46The F-84, either in its straight or swept wing form, was an extremely versatile aircraft.
32:53And although SAC employed it as its own fighter aircraft, there is no doubt that it could perform
32:58the role of an effective fighter bomber as it demonstrated so capably over Korea.
33:26But SAC could now carry such versatile aircraft thousands of miles to the very edge of enemy
33:31territory and small compact nuclear weapons were under development at the same time, it
33:36seems probable that SAC could have used its FICON combination in the bomber role.
33:41By the middle 50s, the B-36 was fully developed and deployed at various SAC bases around the nation.
33:58By the early 50s, SAC's peacemakers were at the peak of their development with the early engine and vibration problems resolved.
34:05With the support of jet power and modifications such as a new quick action bomb bay door, the
34:11B-36 personified the ultimate intercontinental atomic bomber of the era.
34:16But despite the technical success of the project, it still was to continually suffer from political and inter-service criticism.
34:30And even as early as 1949, there had been an investigation into the political influences relating to the 36, all of which came to nothing.
34:51But the Navy's resentment of the peacemaker was stronger and probably more founded.
34:58Its promised 65,000-ton supercarrier was to have the capacity to deliver atomic attacks on would-be Soviet industrial centers and was cancelled.
35:07Partly because of the Air Force insistence that the 36 deterrent was far more flexible and did not represent the eggs-in-one-basket philosophy of a carrier.
35:16What was equally important was that SAC claimed it was just as able to operate from the edge of enemy territory and in conditions that would have been impossible for naval aviation.
35:37To demonstrate their point, B-36s were to regularly fly from their home bases in Central USA to the very edge of Soviet territory.
35:44Highly trained crews of pilots, navigators, radio operators, engineers and gunners would prepare for long hours of flight, often at very high altitudes, over thousands of miles to the frozen wastelands of Alaska.
35:56Here we are Dr.
36:03Co-star
36:06Co-star
36:09Co-star
36:12Co-star
36:15Co-star
36:17Co-star
36:24These men would know that once into the Arctic region, should their aircraft fail and crash
36:36land, and some did, there was very little chance of survival in the sub-zero and uninhabited
36:41wilderness.
36:42Against these prospects, the roar of the Peacemaker's six-piston and four-jet engines
36:47must have sounded far more a blessing than a curse.
37:42The Navy's criticism of the Peacemaker still continued.
37:48At one time, they actually made a formal request to the Air Force for the use of a 36 to test
37:53its defensive capability against Navy fighters.
37:56Outwardly it displayed very little defensive armament, but covered under sliding panels,
38:01the Peacemaker concealed six remotely controlled turrets, each with two 20mm cannons.
38:07These turrets could be hydraulically raised as required, and when used in conjunction
38:12with the forward nose turret and radar controlled rear turret, combined to offer no less than
38:1716 cannons, covering every approach for a range of over half a mile, making the Peacemaker
38:23the most heavily defended aircraft in aviation history.
38:32Ellison Air Force Base in Alaska was a point to which many B-36s on exercise would travel.
38:39Here, Peacemaker's captains would land their massive aircraft, never knowing beforehand
38:43just what weather conditions would prevail as they made their approach.
38:47For some, the function would be little different than that at Offit, thousands of miles away.
38:51But with the weather constantly changing, for others following close behind, visibility would
38:56be close to zero, testing the pilot's skill and resolve to the limit.
39:03GET A PLAY OUT.
39:08No disaster.
39:09Now we're exploring.
39:11There.
39:12There is a perfect storm.
39:13Now there is a perfect storm.
39:15There.
39:16There's absolutely no some signs.
39:17You can dont' look.
39:29Once down, each aircraft would be quickly guided away to its service area, and waiting
39:42heated buses would be quickly on hand to collect the tired and weary crew, who despite the
39:47winter protection, would doubtless be noticing the contrast from what might have been Texas
39:51to Alaska nonstop.
39:59Even here, where weather conditions provided as much protection for aircraft on the ground
40:25as it did risk for those in the air, anti-aircraft protection was always in abundance.
40:29Under this protection, ground crew would immediately work on landed aircraft.
40:41For these men, it was not a short trip from aircraft or heated bus.
40:44They had to come to terms with the hostile environment as best they could.
40:49In quick order, aircraft would be refuelled by crew working on the ice-cold wing surfaces,
40:54a fall from which could prove fatal.
40:56With padded clothes and globed hands, these ground crews took perhaps a different approach.
40:57With padded clothes and globed hands, these ground crews took perhaps a different approach.
40:58But nonetheless, as real a risk as possible.
40:59With padded clothes and globed hands, these ground crews took perhaps a different, but nonetheless,
41:01as real a risk as those who flew.
41:02With padded clothes and globed hands, these ground crews took perhaps a different, but nonetheless,
41:03as real a risk as those who flew.
41:08With time always the enemy.
41:09Each engine would be allocated its own crewman to make the necessary checks before the weather
41:11closed in.
41:12With padded clothes and globed hands, these ground crews took perhaps a different, but
41:26nonetheless, as real a risk as those who flew.
41:29With time always the enemy.
41:30Each engine would be allocated its own crewman to make the necessary checks before the weather
41:36closed in.
41:46So cold was the region that if aircraft had been standing for anything more than a short
41:50time, the engine would require supplementary heating, mainly through the giant air intakes,
41:54to ensure the equipment was not frozen solid.
41:57To achieve this, large mobile heating plants were developed which could pipe vast amounts
42:02of hot air into and around all the piston engines.
42:09The crew compartment was also given the same treatment, not merely to make the area habitable,
42:13but because the instrumentation and onboard equipment simply would not work effectively in such
42:18a cold environment.
42:32Refueled and ready to go, 36ers would again brave the cold Arctic sky on the way back south,
42:37leaving the area to its natural inhabitants.
42:40But the real purpose of these exercises was to demonstrate that from Alaskan bases it would
42:45be just as easy to turn north west to Soviet territory and deliver the devastating cargo
42:50around which the 36 was developed.
43:04Cargo of another sort was identified.
43:06Convair, which designed the 36, won the contract for the Air Force's first supersonic bomber,
43:11the B-58 Hustler, which was the culmination of Convair's long involvement with the Delta design.
43:17It was found that moving from base to base and as yet unflown bomber was not an easy task,
43:23until it was temporarily mounted under a standard 36 with its two inboard props removed
43:28to protect the Hustler wingtips.
43:33which is the W próprio adult hid spook his staying good as that was already broken by—
43:36heck coset there's no repeat?
43:37vast as they beat the Pos Weg
43:39and it was itself in floor..
43:40criteray for the Alaskan.
43:41Niets as well so combined with wind- заяв
43:49after running to base as a intensify,
43:52like neets,
43:54stew,
43:56Perhaps this image symbolises beyond all else the difference between the two generations
44:19of aircraft.
44:21In the space of less than ten years, the quest to improve the speed of bomber aircraft had
44:25so radically changed the shape and size that tomorrow's medium bomber was able to fit comfortably
44:31under yesterday's heavy bomber.
44:37Clearly the age of giantism was coming to a close, and yet Convair still held hopes for
44:42its mammoth in an upgraded form.
44:46The company produced the YB-60 in response to the Air Force requirement for an all-jet
44:50heavy bomber.
44:52If hopes were high at Fort Worth in April 1952 when the YB-60 made its first public debut,
45:01the continuation of the production line would guarantee the jobs of thousands of staff involved
45:06and subcontractors.
45:12It would have brought added prosperity to the city which had produced the world's biggest
45:16bomber.
45:16President of the United States and the U.S.
45:19U.S.
45:20LUNCH
45:25LUNCH
45:26LUNCH
45:27LUNCH
45:31LUNCH
45:35LUNCH
45:36the YB-60 was virtually a B-36 with new fully swept wings and tail crane having no defensive
46:01armament other than the rear turret the entire rear crew and quarters were omitted
46:06added power and less weight brought the YB-60 to a top speed of just over 500 miles per hour
46:13and its production was achieved in rapid time as 70% of its components were standard to the 36
46:19two such examples were ordered by the Air Force to test the concept but only one was to actually fly
46:36the apparent enthusiasm of the test crew was not shared by the Air Force they preferred Boeing's
46:53all-new design B-52 the Strato Fortress which although more expensive offered better performance
46:59in range and speed shown here next to the original Boeing heavy bomber
47:03on August the 14th 1954 at a ceremony at Conway's production line in Fort Worth the last B-36 was handed over to the Air Force
47:10final delivery from the peacemaker plant must have been a bittersweet affair for the Fort Worth people
47:17because although Conway was to continue to use the plant for many successful projects it was from this base that they'd produced what was for many years
47:24the biggest plane ever to fly and a plane that many would say because of its sheer size won a war in the air force
47:31in the air force in the air force in the air force on August the 14th 1954 at a ceremony at Conway's production line in Fort Worth
47:36the last B-36 was handed over to the Air Force the final delivery from the peacemaker plant
47:39although Conway was to continue to use the plant for many successful projects it was from this base that they'd produced what was for many years
47:47the biggest plane ever to fly and a plane many would say because of its sheer size won a war without having to fight
47:58arms away
48:09but
48:17the
48:18the
48:19the
48:24the
48:26the
48:31the
48:32the
48:37THE END
49:07THE END
49:37THE END
50:07THE END
50:09THE END
50:13THE END
50:17THE END
50:19THE END
50:23THE END
50:25THE END
50:29THE END
50:31THE END
50:35THE END
50:37THE END
50:39THE END
50:41THE END
50:43THE END
50:45THE END
50:47THE END
50:53THE END
50:55THE END
50:57THE END
50:59THE END
51:01THE END
51:03THE END
51:05THE END
51:07THE END
51:09THE END
51:11THE END
Be the first to comment